Although record low precipitation has been the main driver of one of the worst droughts in California history, abnormally high temperatures have also played an important role in amplifying its adverse effects, according to a recent study by the U.S. Geological Survey and university partners.
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Greening the Airline Industry
The airline sector is trying to lessen its carbon footprint. In mid-June, the Paris Air Show will host the COP21 seen from the sky conference. Boeing and Airbus are concentrating their commercial efforts on the environment, which is now a selling point. “CO2 affects our ability to grow," said Jonathon Counsell, Head of Environment for British Airways, during a day dedicated to the environment organised by Airbus at its Toulouse site. Airlines make up 2% of worldwide CO2 emissions. But the doubling of passengers every 15 years has made it a growing source of greenhouse gases.
Larvae Parasite May Contribute to Declining Honey Bee Colonies
Biologists at UC San Diego have discovered that a tiny single-celled parasite may have a greater-than expected impact on honey bee colonies, which have been undergoing mysterious declines worldwide for the past decade. In this week’s issue of the journal PLOS ONE, the scientists report that a microsporidian called Nosema ceranae, which has been known to infect adult Asiatic and European honey bees, can also infect honeybee larvae.
Tattoos and skin complications
In what they believe to be the first survey of its kind in the United States, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have found that as many as 6 percent of adult New Yorkers who get "inked" -- in other words, those who get a tattoo -- have experienced some form of tattoo-related rash, severe itching or swelling that lasted longer than four months and, in some cases, for many years.
"We were rather alarmed at the high rate of reported chronic complications tied to getting a tattoo," says senior study investigator and NYU Langone dermatologist Marie Leger, MD, PhD, whose team's latest findings appear in the journal Contact Dermatitis online May 27.
Los glaciares antárticos estables se están derritiendo
Un cambio dramático ha tenido lugar en los glaciares de la Península Antártica sur, escribe Bert Wouters. Hace seis años, estos cuerpos otrora estables, de repente empezaron a derramar 60 kilómetros cúbicos de hielo por año en el océano. ¿Es esta una severa advertencia de nuevas sorpresas por venir?
La Unión Europea se acerca a prohibir el cadmio en las TVs
El Parlamento Europeo votó la semana pasada el volver a evaluar el uso de cadmio en los televisores vendidos en toda Europa, argumentando que ahora estaban ampliamente disponibles alternativas más seguras a la sustancia tóxica y cancerígena.